Ryan Turns 18 Today!

Our youngest son turns 18 today!  Wow!  Where did those 18 years go?  Ryan has been such a joy in our lives.  He is such a funny guy with the biggest heart and the sweetest smile.  Happy Birthday Ryan!  We love you so much!!!

Weighing in on Weight Watchers

I just finished up my first week on Weight Watchers and I have lost....5.5 pounds!  Wow!  I must stay I am really happy about that.  I am not attending meetings, but have decided to use the Online program and so far it has been pretty easy to use.  I have found that the site is hard to get onto at certain times of the day.  Have to keep hitting refresh over and over until it loads.  But, once I get into the site, it is full of fun charts, recipes, tips, cooking demos and trackers.  You can track your weight, your food and your activity.  I am loving the calculator that figures out how many points certain foods are for you.  I remember doing Weight Watchers years ago and having a little slider tool for your purse, this is a lot like that but better.   You enter in the amount of Fat, Carbohydrates, Protein and Fiber a serving of food has listed per serving size.  I really like how you skip right over the Calories!  You can also enter a food item into a search bar and it will find it for you and give you the point values.

And here is the BEST part of this program, all of your Fruits and Veggies are FREE!!!  I think this has made the biggest difference for me this first week.  I have had an apple and orange every day this week.  Making a salad for lunch, dinner or as a side is great, because I don't have to count any of it!  O Points!!  I am trying to be very careful with the dressings and have found some low point options from Litehouse.  I really like the Pomegranate Blueberry and Huckleberry Vinaigrette.    They are only 1 point per 2 Tablespoons.  I am counting it as 2 points - because 2 Tablespoons of anything just don't cut it!

For dessert and an afternoon snack at work I have been eating a lot of Yoplait Lights.  My good friend Julie told me they have some really great NEW flavors like Red Velvet Cake, Strawberry Shortcake and Raspberry Cheesecake.  Now they are not as satisfying as the real deal, but for 3 points they are a great alternative!  Also love the Jello Pudding sugar free snacks with a bit of canned whip cream on top.  The whipped cream is free and the pudding is only 2 points.

For dinner we have been eating a lot of rice and stir-fried veggies this week.  We have been having either chicken or fish as our protein.  I just wish white rice was a little lower in points OR I could get myself to like brown rice.  Our family LOVES Basmati rice and we buy it by the pound at Win-co.  I love the popcorn smell and the light and fluffy texture of it.  One cup of steamed white rice is 5 points.  OUCH!  But, I am measuring it all out and adding double the veggies to make the meal more filling.

I plan to spend the day going through my cupboards and fridge to figure out the points on the food that is in the house and add it to my tracker.  Then I am going to spend sometime online finding blogs and websites that have great WW recipes and point values already figured out for me.  I will add them to my blog roll list to share with anyone that is also doing WW.

I hope this second week is just as successful.  I am a little nervous about it.  I don't have a great track record when it comes to dieting!  I also have to come up with the willpower to start exercising this week.  Going to have to plug in the old treadmill and give it a go!

Typical day at work

It is always hard going back to work after a Holiday and/or some extra time off. Shawna and I had three days off in a row this week and that is a big deal for us. Since we are the only two that work full-time at the store, we usually get a couple of days off a week but rarely in a row.

Today we had to flip the store and move the new Valentine lines up front and the old Christmas and winter items towards the back. We had a lot of new product to check in, price and put out. I also had three wedding invitation orders to typeset and card samples to make for upcoming classes. When I think about the kind of work I do each day; I have to stop and smile. I get to be creative, visit with wonderful customers & friends, hang out with my BFF/Co-worker and be my own boss. Not bad for a job!

Out with the Old ...In with the New Year!

 As we welcome in 2011 I thought I would take some time and document what we did in 2010!

Ryan is a Senior at Moscow High School and turns 18 in a few days.  He got his driver's license this year and has become our personal chauffeur and deliver driver!  He just started working at Dominoes and is looking forward to saving up some money to move out this summer with a friend.  He had some health issues with his bladder and kidneys that we finally have gotten resolved.

Jared is doing great and is back home with us. He is still into WarHammer and spends hours putting his models together and painting them. He is also making a custom Chopper Bike and is learning how to weld and work on bikes with a friend who operates a bike shop out of his garage.

  He also went to Seattle to hang out with friends and attend the Sakura-Con convention (an Anime Convention - that his friends were more into than he was; but he had a great time anyway!!)  Dave and I drove him up there and got to spend the weekend at the Hotel 1000 and made a little mini weekend just for ourselves! 

We also met up with my Cousin, Mark in Seattle and had a wonderful time catching up with him.

Dave is still working at the University of Idaho as a Network Manager in the ITS Department. 

His latest obsessions, oh I mean hobbies are his new car, World of Warcraft and photography.   Dave and I were able to get away this past June to Port Townsend and spent a week just hanging out at
our Discovery Bay Timeshare.

We still have Charlie and Sraps. Charlie is getting up there in years, but is still doing good. The boy's got two cats for their birthdays last year, Smoky and Mischief. Sadly, we lost Mischief a couple of months ago after she was hit by a car. That was really hard on all of us, as we had really gotten attached to her.

I still have my Scrapbook Store in Pullman, Wa and spend a lot of time working.

 I have started making Artist Trading Cards and have done a lot of trading with people all over the world through Swap-bot and Flickr.  We also have a local group that meets at the store and at the Quilted Moose (a local Quilt Shop) to trade. 

We had a Scrapbook Retreat last February at the Palouse Divide Lodge and have another one planned this February. This is such a great time for me to work on my own scrapbooks and have a relaxing time away from the store and work.

I am still teaching lots of stamping and art classes at the store and am looking forward to
creating more art with my friends!

Other than that - we have had an OK year.
I am looking forward to this New Year and hope it is a good one!